Section 2

So you see Ruth did not lose
anything by staying with Naomi.

HOAZ SHOWIXd KINDNESS TO KITH.

ELI AND SAMUEL.

Once a year Samuel's mother went
to see him and always took with her
a little coat. One night, when Samuel
was asleep, he heard his name spoken.
He thought Eli called him, and ran
to see what he wanted. But Eli said
he had not called him. So he went
back to bed. Again he heard "Sam-
uel," and again he ran to Eli. But
Eli had not called him. Still again
he was called and ran to Eli. Then
Eli knew that God had spoken and
told him to say, "Speak, Lord, for
thy servant heareth," next time he
was called. Samuel did this, and
God told him of something terrible
that was going to happen to Eli
and his sons.

SA.MIU. AND ELI.

DEATH OF ELI AND HIS

SONS.

A little while after God spoke to
Samuel, the Israelites fought against
the Philistines. They were beaten.

Then they took the ark of God from
the tabernacle and marched against
the Philistines. At first the Philistines
were afraid of the ark. But they
fought bravely. The Israelites were
again beaten. Eli's two sons were
killed and the ark of God was taken.
Eli was then ninety-eight years old.
He was blind. He was sitting on a
bench by the roadside when he heard
the sad news. He was so overcome
by the intelligence he fell over back-
ward and brake his neck. That was
what God told Samuel would happen.

KM RECEIVING THE NEWS OF THE DEATH OF HIS SON^.

PLAYING ON THE HARP
BEFORE SAUL.

Saul was the king of Israel. David
was a shepherd boy, the son of Jesse.
He had a happy, ruddy face that made
everybody like him. Besides he was
very brave. Once he killed both a
lion and a bear that came to eat up the
lambs in his father's flock. He knew
how to throw stones with a sling and
could play on the harp beautifully.
One day King Saul was feeling very
sad and wanted somebody to play to
him. He thought music would make
him feel better. His servants told him
about David. So he sent for him.
David came and played so nicely on
the harp that Saul forgot all about
his trouble.

DAVID PLAYING ON THE HARP BEFORE SAUL.

DAVID AND GOLIATH.

The Israelites and Philistines were
at war. Goliath was a Philistine
giant. He used to come out in front
of the Israelites every day and dare
any one to fight with him. He was
so big and strong that all the Israelites
were afraid to try. One day David
came to the camp on an errand, and
when he saw Goliath he made up his
mind to fight him. So he chose five
smooth stones out of a brook and put
them in his shepherd's bag. Then
with sling in hand he went toward
Goliath. Goliath laughed at him, but
David did not mind that. He threw
a stone with his sling. It hit Goliath
on the forehead and he fell to the
ground. Then David cut off his head.

DAVID.

DAVID AND ARAUNAH.

David was not a bad man, but he
sometimes did wrong and then God
had to punish him although He was
very fond of him. When he had been
king many years he had the Israelites
counted. This displeased God and He
sentaplagueuponlsrael. Thisplague
killed many thousand people. David
felt very sorry to have his people die
for his sin and prayed God to stop
the plague and punish him instead.
God told David to go to the threshing-
floor of Araunah and make an offer-
ing. David went. He bought the
threshing-flooor and some oxen and
wood. Then he built an altar and
made the offering. God stopped the
plague.

DAVID AND ARAUNAH.

ELIJAH FED BY RAVENS.

Ahab was a very wicked king, more
wicked than any that came beforehim.
He took a wife who worshiped idols
and bnilt an altar to a heathen god
and worshiped this god. So God
sent Elijah to Ahab to say to him:
"As the Lord of Israel liveth there
shall not be dew nor rain these years."
Ahab was so angry at Elijah that he
had to flee and hide himself by the
brook Cherith near the river Jordan.
The brook gave him all the water he
needed, but there was no food there.
But God would not let his prophet
starve- He sent ravens to feed him.
These ravens brought him bread and
meat twice every day ; in the morn-
ing and in the evening.

ELIJAH FED BY RAVENS.

ELIJAH AND ELISHA.

One day Elijah was traveling
through the land, when he saw twelve
men ploughing with twelve yoke of
oxen. One of these men was Elisha.
When Elijah saw Elisha, he knew
that he was the man God wished him
to take for a servant. So Elijah
threw his coat on Elisha as he went
by. Then Elisha ran after Elijah
and said: " Let me, I pray thee, kiss
my father and mother and then I
will follow thee." He killed a yoke
of oxen and made a feast. Then he
said good-by to his father and mother
and went away with Elijah. After-
ward God took Elijah up to Heaven
in a chariot of fire. Elisha was with
him at the time.

PLOUGHING IN CANAAN.

THE SHUNAMMITE'S SON.

A kind Shunammite woman who
liked Elisha made for him a little
chamber on the wall. She made it
cosey with a bed and table and stool
and candlestick. Elisha used to come
to this little room when he got tired.
Now this good woman had a little boy
whom she dearly loved, for he was her
z^j child. One morning- the little
fellow was running about in the field
with the reapers. All at once he felt
a pain and ran to his father, crying,
"My head! my head!" When the
father saw his little son was not feel-
ing well, he had him taken home to
his mother. She held him in her lap
till noon. Then he died. Elisha
brought him back to life.

THE SHUNAMMITE S SON RESTORED.

THE LITTLE CAPTIVE MAID.

Naaman was a great Syrian general,
w ho had beaten the Israelites in bat-
tle. He was very wretched because
he was a leper. Now Naaman's wife
had a little Israelite girl to wait upon
her, who had heard of the wonderful
things Elisha had done. This little
girl had told her mistress that Elisha
could cure Naaman. So Naainan
went with his chariot and horses to
see Elisha. Elisha told him to wash
seven times in the river Jordan.
Naaman would not do this at first, it
seemed such a little thing. But
he finally changed his mind, and
washed in the Jordan and was cured.
You see how much good one little
girl can do.

THE LITTLE CAPTIVE MAID.

JONAH AT NINEVEH.

God told Jonah to go to Nineveh
and warn the people that their city
would be destroyed because they were
so wicked. But Jonah ran away to
sea. There was a terrible storm on
the sea, and the sailors threw Jonah
overboard. They thought he was
the cause of the storm. But he was
not drowned, for God sent a great fish
to swallow him. Jonah was inside
the fish three days and three nights.
Then God made the fish throw Jonah
up on the dry land. After this
God sent Jonah to Nineveh. But
the people were so sorry for their
sins that He took pity on them and
did not destroy the city.

JONAH AT NINEVEH.

HEZEKIAH AND SENNA-
CHERIB.

Hezekiah was the best king- Judah
ever had. The Bible says no king
ever served God so well. When Heze-
kiah had been king fourteen years,
Sennacherib, the king of Assyria,
marched against Jerusalem. He sent
a letter to Hezekiah, telling him to
give up the city because his God could
not help him. Hezekiah took this
letter up into the temple. He spread
it out before God and prayed Him
to save Jerusalem. God heard his
prayer. That night His angel went
into the Assyrian camp and killed one
hundred and eighty-five thousand
of the Assyrians. Soon after this
Sennacherib's two sons killed him.

HF.ZF.KIAH LAYING THE LETTER BEFORE <.<>!>.

THE BRA YE HEBREW BOYS.

Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and
Azariah were four Hebrew boys who
were prisoners at Babylon. They
thought it was wrong to eat the meat
and drink the wine the king sent,
and refused both when offered them.
They asked for plain food and pure
water instead. But the servant was
afraid they would grow thin if he
gave them nothing else. Then the
king would be angry at him and he
would lose his life. Daniel told him
to give them plain food and water
for ten days. He did so. At the end
of the ten days they seemed so much
better than those who ate the meat
and drank the wine that the servant
was glad to do as they wished.

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DANIEL AND THE LIONS.

When Darius was king at Babylon
he liked Daniel so well that he made
him the chief officer in his kingdom.
This made the other officers hate Dan-
iel. They got Darius to make a law
that every man who prayed to any
one except Darius himself should be
thrown into the den of lions. Daniel
kept on praying to his God three times
a day. When Darius heard that Dan-
iel prayed he was very sorry he had
made the law. But he could not
change it, so Daniel was thrown into
the lions' den. That night Darius
could not sleep, he felt so bad. Yery
early next morning he ran to the
den. But Daniel was safe, for God
had shut the lions' mouths.

DANIEL AND THE LIONS.

ESTHER BEFORE THE KING.

Ahasuerus was king of Persia.
Esther, a Jewess, was his queen.
Haman was next to the king-. He
was a cruel man, and hated the Jews
because one of them, a servant of the
king, would not bow down to him.
So he got the king to make a law that
all the Jews in his kingdom should
be killed. Esther felt very sorry for
her people. She made up her mind to
save them if she could. But first she
spent three days in fasting and prayer.
Then she went to the king and beg-
ged him to save the Jews. The
king loved Esther so much that he
did what she asked. So the Jews
were saved from the cruel decree of
the king Ahasuerus.

ESTHER BEFORE THE RING.

DAVID AND JONATHAN.

Saul loved David at first. Then lie
hated him and tried to kill him twice
by throwing- his spear at him. David
escaped and hid himself. Now Saul
had a son named Jonathan, who
thought a great deal of David. It
made him feel very bad to see his
father trying to kill him. Jonathan
thought that Saul night get over his
anger in two or three days and take
David back. But when he was sure
that Saul really meant to kill David,
he went to his hiding place : nd
told him how he might get away.
After they had wept and kissed each
other and promised always to be
friends, David fled and Jonathan
went back to his father.

DAVID AND JONATHAN.

THE BIRTH OF CHRIST. Matt. ii. I.

THE BIRTH OF CHRIST.

One night certain shepherds
were out in the fields taking* care
of their sheep. Suddenly they
saw a light brighter than the sun,
and in the glory of the light, an
angel. They felt afraid.

But the angel spoke to them;
he said: " Fear not. I have good
news for you, and for all the peo-
ple in the world. There was born
to-day, in the city of Bethlehem,
a little child who is to be a
Saviour; his name is Christ the
Lord. You will find him lyino* in
a manger." As he spoke, suddenly
there appeared a great company of
angels, and they sang: "Glory to
God in the highest, and on earth,
peace, good-will toward men."

When the angels were gone back
to Heaven, the shepherds said to
one another: "Let us go right
away to Bethlehem, and find this
wonderful baby that the Lord has
sent us word about."

So they started in haste. When
they reached Bethlehem, they found
the stable, and the manger, and
there was the baby with his mother.
Then the shepherds told what the
angels had said and sung. The peo-
ple wondered at it; the mother re-
membered every word, and thought
about what it all meant. Then the
shepherds went back to their work
praising God as they went, for all
that he had told them, and for all
that they had seen.

THE CHILDHOOD OF JESUS.

The child Jesus grew strong in
body and mind. He was so unlike
any other child that he was "filled
with wisdom." God's favor was
with him all the time. When he
was twelve years old he went with
his father and mother to Jerusalem
to the great yearly feast called the
Passover. Having been there eight
days, they started for home. But
Jesus stayed behind at Jerusalem.
His father and mother didn't know
it; they supposed him to be with
some of the friends. At night when
they stopped to rest, they found he
was not to be found. They went
among the friends and acquaintances
who were travelling with them, but

they got no news of him; so they
turned back toward Jerusalem, look-
ing for him all the way. In this
way three days passed ; then they
found their son sitting in the church
among the learned men, listening
and asking questions. And the
people who listened were astonished
at the questions which Jesus asked,
and at the words which he spoke.
When his parents saw him, they
were very much astonished. His
mother said to him: "My son, why
did you treat us in this way ? Your
father and I have hunted for you in
great sorrow."

Then he made this strange an-
swer: "How is it that you sought
me? Didn't you know that I must
be about my Father's business ? "

the child jesus. — Luke ii. 40.

They didn't understand what he
meant; they forgot that their son
was not simply a boy; he was God.
But he came at once from the church,
and went home with them, and
obeyed his father and mother in
everything. But his mother never
forgot any of the strange words that
he spoke.

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MINISTRY OF JOHN THE

BAPTIST.

When Jesus had grown to he a
young- man, there came a minister
through the country ahout Jordan,
preaching* to the people that they re-
pent and be baptized. Some thought
he. was the Christ for whom they had
been waiting. But he said to them:
"I baptize you with water, but
there is coining one, so much might-
ier than I, that I am not even worthy
to untie his shoes [this was the work
of the lowest servant] ; He will bap-
tize you with the Holy Ghost and
with fire. He will make clean the
hearts of his people. He will gather
them in as wheat is gathered into the
garner. But the wicked will be like

chaff which is burned up, with a fire
that cannot be put out. Many other
solemn things, also, this minister
preached to the people. Aman named
Herod, ruler over part of the country,
was angry with John because he had
been reproved for many sins, among
them marrying a woman whom he
had no right to marry; and he put
John in prison. But before that
happened, one day, when John had
been preaching and baptizing many
people, Jesus came, and asked to be
baptized also ; and as he was praying,
a wonderful thing happened. The
Holy Ghost came down out of heaven
in the form of a dove, and rested on
Jesus, and a voice out of heaven said:
"Thou art my beloved son; in thee I
am well pleased."

JESUS AT NAZARETH.

We find Jesus to-day in Nazareth,
where he lived in his boyhood. It is
the Sabbath-day, and he has gone to
church, and stands reading to the peo-
ple from the Bible. He read in the
book named Isaiah ; read about him-
self. These are the words: "The
Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because
He hath anointed me to preach the
gospel to the poor; He hath sent me
to heal the broken-hearted, to preach
deliverance to the captives, and re-
covering of sight to the blind, to set
at liberty them that are bruised, to
preach the acceptable year of the
Lord." When he had read these
wonderful words he closed the book,
and gave it to the minister, and sat

down. All the people looked at him,
wondering what he would say. Then
he began to talk. He told them that
the promises he had been reading to
them were fulfilled. All listened
and wondered at the tender and
beautiful words that he spoke. They
whispered to each other, saying,
"Isn't this Joseph's son ? " Then he
said to them: "You will surely re-
mind me of the proverb, 'Physician,
heal thyself.' Do some of the won-
lerful things here that we have
eard of you doing in Capernaum.
But, remember, no prophet is highly
thought of in his own country. Re-
member that during that time of
famine in Israel, when it didn't rain
for three years and six months, there
were many widows, but the prophet