who came out of Egypt had there been circumcised; yet this rite had not been performed on any born in the wilderness, on account of their continual journeyings: and nearly all the males therefore, of the whole host had now to submit to this ceremony; for of all who had come out of Egypt, in adult age, no more than two remained. All the men of war, except Caleb and Joshua, had fallen in the wilderness; but many who were children when the Exodus took place, were still living, as indeed God promised that this should be the event, when he sware, that none of the adults should ever enter the promised land. During the time that the people were recovering from the effects of this painful ceremony, they remained in their camp, at Gilgal. "And the Lord said unto Joshua, this day have I rolled away the reproach of Egypt from off you," therefore, the name of the place was called Gilgal, which word means, "to roll away."

There was a peculiar reason for attending without delay to the duty of circumcision, because the time for the celebration of the passover was near at hand, and it was expressly provided, that no uncircumcised man should be permitted to partake of this ordinance. Whether the passover had been celebrated in the wilderness, we are not informed. If it was, the qualification of circumcision must have been wanting. The probability however is, that this ordinance also was omitted, during the long period of Israel's sojourning in the wilderness; for they knew not, when stationary, at what moment they might receive the signal to march; and the celebration of the passover with the accompanying feast of unleavened bread, required a period of seven days leisure. But having now entered into Canaan, they kept the passover at the appointed time, on the fourteenth day of Nisan. "And they did eat of the old corn of the land, on the morrow after the passover, unleavened cakes and parched corn in the self-same day. And the manna ceased on the morrow after they had eaten of the old corn of the land; neither had the children of Israel manna any more; but they did eat of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year." These words of the sacred historian suggest another reason why we should suppose that the passover was not celebrated while the people remained in the wilderness; because during that period, they had no bread suitable for the purpose. They had plenty of manna, but this was a very different thing from bread of wheat or barley. If their enemies had come upon them while sore, in consequence of circumcision, or even while engaged in the observance of the passover, they would have found them in a poor condition to defend themselves; but God had struck such a terror into the minds of the Amorites and Canaanites, that they had no spirit to attempt any thing. Joshua, doubt

less, felt great solicitude, in the peculiar circumstances in which he was placed; but like Moses, he trusted confidently in the Lord, whose commands he was executing. While the army lay encamped near Jericho, he seems to have taken a solitary walk towards that city, when there appeared to him a man with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua was not a man to be intimidated, and marched up to this armed man, and said, "Art thou for us, or for our adversaries? And he said, Nay, but as captain of the host of the Lord, am I now come." Joshua perceiving that it was a manifestation of Jehovah himself, "fell on his face to the earth, and worshipped, and said, What saith my Lord unto his servant? And the captain of the Lord's host said to Joshua, loose the shoe off thy feet; for the place where thou standest is holy ground."

SECTION IV.

THE CONQUEST OF JERICHO-THE CURSE DENOUNCED BY JOSHUA AGAINST THE MAN WHO SHOULD REBUILD THIS CITY.

THIS captain of the Lord's host who appeared unto Joshua, was Jehovah himself; the Angel of the covenant, who at tended the children of Israel in all their pilgrimage. "And the Lord said unto Joshua, see, I have given into thy hand Jericho, and the king thereof, and the mighty men of valour. And ye shall compass the city, all ye men of war, and go round about the city once. Thus shalt thou do six days. And seven priests shall bear before the ark seven trumpets of rams' horns; and the seventh day ye shall compass the city, seven times, and the priests shall blow with the trumpets. And it shall come to pass, when they make a long blast with the rams' horns, and when ye hear the sound of the trumpet, all the people shall shout with a great shout, and the wall of the city shall fall down flat, and every man shall ascend up straight before him. And Joshua the son of Nun called the priests and said unto them, Take up the ark of the covenant, and let the seven priests bear seven trumpets of rams' horns before the ark of the Lord. And he said unto the people, Pass on, and compass the city, and let him that is armed pass on before the ark of the Lord." When these orders were obeyed by the priests and people, they were further commanded by the leader, not to shout nor to make any noise with their voice, until they should receive a command to do so. And when they had encompassed the city every day for six days, returning each day into the camp, that on the seventh day, Joshua gave orders for the peo

ple and priests when they had gone round the city, and which on this day they repeated seven times, to shout, for the city was given by the Lord into their hands. And it was declared, that the whole city and all its inhabitants should be devoted to destruction; except, that Rahab and her friends should be spared, because she hid the messengers that had been sent, and had received a solemn promise that she should be preserved. And the people were warned by all means, "to keep themselves from the accursed thing," lest they should themselves fall under a curse, and bring trouble into the camp of Israel. It was declared, however, that "the silver and gold and vessels of brass and iron should be consecrated to Jehovah, and should belong to the treasury of the Lord." And as soon as the priests and people had encompassed the wall the seventh time, on this seventh day, the trumpets were sounded, and when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, they shouted with a great shout, and the wall fell flat, so that the people went up every one straight before him, and they took the city. And they utterly destroyed all that was in the city, both man and woman, young and old, and ox and sheep, and ass, with the edge of the sword. But Joshua gave special orders to the young men who had been sent as spies, "Bring out the woman, and all that she hath, as ye sware unto her; and they brought out Rahab and her father, and her mother, and her brethren, and all that she had; and they brought out all her kindred, and left them without the camp of Israel." "And they burnt the city with fire and all that was therein; only the silver and the gold, and the vessels of brass and iron, they put into the treasury of the

house of the Lord."

And Joshua denounced a heavy curse on the man who should rise up and rebuild Jericho, saying, "Cursed be the man before the Lord, that riseth up and buildeth this city, Jericho; he shall lay the foundation thereof in his first born, and in his youngest son shall he set up the gates of it." This first onset in the invasion of Canaan, and the miraculous overthrow of Jericho, while it raised the fame of Joshua very high, as being the instrument of God's vengeance, spread consternation among the people of the land.

The imprecation of Joshua in this case was not spoken of himself, but from the inspiration of God; and the words spoken were not a vain, empty threat, but the prediction was literally fulfilled many hundred years afterwards, when Hiel, the Bethelite, laid the foundation of Jericho in his first-born, Abiram, and set up the gates thereof in his youngest son, Segub. 1 Kings xvi. 34.

SECTION V.

THE TRANSGRESSION OF ACHAN-THE ATTACK UPON AI, AND THE DEFEAT OF THE ISRAELITES-JOSHUA'S DISTRESS-THE LORD'S COMMUNICATION TO HIMACHAN DETECTED AND PUNISHED WITH ALL HIS HOUSE-RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD IN THIS TRANSACTION.

NOTWITHSTANDING the solemn warning which Joshua gave to the people respecting the spoil of the city of Jericho, which was all accursed, and not to be touched, except the silver and the gold, the iron and brass, which were consecrated to the treasury of the Lord, there was found a man, among the children of Israel, who had not faith and virtue enough to enable him to resist the temptation of purloining and hiding in his tent, some articles on which he had set his covetous heart. This was Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah. On account of this deliberate disobedience of his positive commandment, "the anger of the Lord was kindled against the children of Israel."

Jericho being in ruins, Joshua next directed his attention to a city named Ai, which was beside Beth-aven, on the east side of Beth-el. According to his usual custom, he took the precaution of sending spies to examine the strength and situation of the place. Their report was, that the inhabitants of this place were not numerous, and that there would be no need for the whole army to be put in motion against a city so inconsiderable; and they recommended, that two or three thousand men should be detailed for this service. Accordingly, Joshua sent three thousand men upon this apparently easy expedition. But the event did not answer the expectation; for, when the men of Ai came out against this band, they seemed to be panic struck, and fled with precipitation, and thirty-six of their number were left dead on the field; and the enemy pursued them from before the gate, even unto Shebarim. Upon this the hearts of the people melted, and became as water; and Joshua appears to have been afflicted and confounded in the greatest degree, for "he rent his clothes, and fell to the ground, upon his face, before the ark of the Lord, until the eventide, he and the elders of Israel, and put dust upon their heads. And Joshua said, alas! O Lord God, wherefore hast thou at all brought the people over Jordan, to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us? Would to God we had been content and dwelt on the other side Jordan. O Lord, what shall I say, when Israel turneth their backs upon their enemies! For the Canaanites, and all the inhabitants of the land. shall hear of it, and shall environ us round, and cut off our name from the earth: and what wilt thou do unto thy great

name? And the Lord said unto Joshua, Get thee up, wherefore liest thou upon thy face? Israel hath sinned, and they have also transgressed my covenant which I commanded them; for they have even taken of the accursed thing, and have also stolen, and dissembled also, and have put it even amongst their own stuff. Therefore the children of Israel could not stand before their enemies, but turned their backs, because they were accursed; neither will I be with you any more, except ye destroy the accursed from among you. Up, sanctify the people, and say, sanctify yourselves against to-morrow for thus saith the Lord God of Israel, there is an accursed thing in the midst of thee, O Israel: thou canst not stand before thine enemies, until ye take away the accursed thing from among you. In the morning, therefore, ye shall be brought, according to your tribes; and it shall be, that the tribe which the Lord taketh shall come according to the families thereof; and the family which the Lord shall take shall come by households; and the households which the Lord shall take, shall come man by man. And it shall be, that he that is taken with the accursed thing, shall be burnt with fire, he and all that he hath; because he hath transgressed the covenant of the Lord, and because he hath wrought folly in Israel. So Joshua rose up early in the morning, and brought Israel by their tribes, and the tribe of Judah was taken." Then the family of the Zarhites was taken-Next, Zabdi was taken; and he brought his household man by man, and Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, was taken. "And Joshua said unto Achan, My son, give, I pray thee, glory to the Lord God of Israel, and make confession unto him; and tell me now what thou hast done, and hide it not from me. And Achan said, Indeed I have sinned against the Lord God of Israel, and thus and thus have I done. When I saw among the spoils a goodly Babylonish garment, and two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold, of fifty shekels weight, then I courted them, and took them, and behold, they are hid in the earth, in the midst of my tent, and the silver under it. So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran unto the tent; and behold it (the Babylonish garment) was hid in his tent, and the silver under it. And they took them out of the midst of the tent, and brought them unto Joshua, and unto all the children of Israel, and laid them out before the Lord. And Joshua and all Israel with him, took Achan, the son of Zerah, and the silver, and the garment, and the wedge of gold, and his sons and his daughters, and his oxen and his asses, and his sheep and his tent, and all that he had, and brought them to the valley of Achor. And Joshua said, Why hast thou troubled us? The Lord shall trouble thee this