BOAZ AND RUTH

Among the people of Israel, when they were settled in the promised land, was a man named Boaz. He was very rich; for God had given him cattle and corn-fields in abundance. He was a good, kind man, too.

One day, in the tune of harvest, a poor young woman went into his field to pick up the stalks of corn and barley that the reapers left as they went along. As she was gleaning, Boaz came into the field, and asked who she was. When he had heard that she was a good woman, he spoke kindly to her, and not only gave her leave to glean in his field as long as she liked, but told her that when she was hungry she might go and get her dinner with his own reapers.

When she got home, she had such a quantity of barley that her mother-in-law, with whom she lived, asked her where she had been gleaning. She said, in the field of Boaz. Then her mother-in-law told Ruth that this kind man was a near relation of hers. After some time, Boaz became kinder to her than ever. At last he married her, and King David, who wrote so many psalms, was her great-grandson.—The place where they lived was called Bethlehem. Here, long afterwards, the Lord Jesus was born.

CITIES OF REFUGE

A refuge is a place to be safe in.

When the Israelites were travelling to the country God had promised to give them, God told Moses a great many things that He would have them do when they got there. These were things to make them live happily and comfortably in their new country.

One of the things that God would have them do, was to fix upon six cities, in various parts of the country, to which any one who had killed a man by accident might run, and be safe from punishment. As long as he stayed in the City of Refuge no one could harm him for what he had done, if it was really an accident that he could not help. Indeed, even if it was owing to something very careless that he had done, such as throwing a stone without looking whether it might hurt somebody, he was still to be safe there. But if, after he had run there for his life, it was found out that he had killed any one on purpose, then he was to be sent away and put to death. God Himself said that such people ought not to be allowed to live. In His own Book we read,"Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made He man."

MOSES STRIKING THE ROCK

When the Israelites could no longer bear their cruel treatment in Egypt, God bade Moses take them away to another land, which they were to have all to themselves. The king tried to prevent Moses taking them away; but God punished him and his people most severely for this, and then he let them go.

There was a vast number of them men, women, and children, with their cattle. And when, in the course of their journey to the land God had promised to give them, they got into wild, desert places, they were frightened, and wished themselves back again. They thought they should die of hunger; and then God sent them food from heaven itself. It was called manna, and tasted very sweet. But they soon got tired of it, and wanted something else. Then God gave them great numbers of birds. But though He gave them what they wanted, He was at the same time very angry with them, so that they had no enjoyment of' it. Not long afterwards they wanted water. And Moses prayed to God; for he did not know what to do. And God told him to strike a certain rock in Horeb with his staff; and when he did so, water gushed out in abundance.

The Great Flood

Many years after the death of Adam and Eve, all the people in the world had become so wicked that God determined to destroy them all by a great flood.

But among these wicked people there was one good man, called Noah; and God would not destroy him with the wicked ones. So He told Noah to build a great ship, called an Ark, that would hold him and his family, with numbers of beasts, and birds, and other living creatures. In this ark they might float along safely when the water covered the earth, and come out alive when it dried up again.

So when they were shut in the ark God drowned the whole world, as He had said He would.

When they had been shut in some months, Noah sent out a raven and a dove, in order to know whether the earth was again dry. The raven did not return to him; but the dove came back, because everything was covered with water after the flood. Then again he sent the dove out, and when it came back with an olive leaf in its beak, he knew the water was almost all gone. Afterwards (when God told him), he came out of the ark on dry ground.

JOSEPH CAST INTO THE PIT

There was a great man in the Eastern part of the world, spoken of in the Bible, whose name was Jacob. God had made him very rich with cattle and flocks of sheep. He had also twelve sons. Of these twelve sons he most loved the youngest but one, whose name was Joseph. He loved him more than he loved his other sons, because Joseph was born when he was an old man; so he made him his pet and favorite. Joseph's elder brothers were grown-up men, yet they were very much displeased that their father made a favorite of his young son Joseph. They were displeased with their father; and they were wicked enough to hate their young brother because he was their father's favorite.

It is a terrible thing to hate any one, especially one's own brother. These wicked elder ones began by quarrelling with Joseph; and before long they tried to kill him. Their father sent him with a message to them, and they laid hold of .the lad, and were just going to kill him, when one of them said, “Let us throw him into this pit;” for he meant to take him out when the rest were gone. So they threw the poor lad into the pit.

CHRIST BLESSING LITTLE CHILDREN

Christ loves little children. Indeed He loves all His people. He died to save them from their sins; that is, that they might be forgiven and made good here, and then live for ever with Himself in heaven. But when He was upon earth, though people knew how good and loving He was to every one, some thought He would not care about little children. So one day when some women brought their little children to Him, hoping that He would give them His blessing, His friends who were with Him bade them take the children away, and not trouble Him. They told the women that they ought not to have brought them.
But when Jesus knew that, He was much displeased, and said unto His disciples, "Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God." Then He took them up in His arms, laid His hands gently on them, and blessed them.Oh, happy little children, to be blessed by the loving Redeemer Himself! But children may even now-a-days be blessed by Christ,—though they cannot see Him,—if, by the help of His Spirit, they give themselves to Him, and try to follow His example.

THE GOOD SHEPHERD

The Good Shepherd is our Lord Jesus Christ. A good shepherd is tender to his sheep. He leads them to the best pasture that he can find, and keeps them safe and quiet in it. He will not let any one hurt them. And if there is a poor, little, weak lamb, that can scarcely stand on its trembling limbs, he will take it up and carry it gently.

Christ's sheep and lambs are grown-up people and little children, whom He came into this world to seek and to save. And He will never leave them, but will gently and tenderly lead them all the way to heaven; for we are not to live here always. There are many hard things in the way to heaven. Sometimes our fathers and mothers die and leave us; and it is very sad for little children to have no father or mother to comfort them. Sometimes people have not food or clothes enough; that is very hard to bear. But the worst things of all in the way to heaven are our own bad tempers, our wicked hearts; for God will not allow those in heaven. But Christ will comfort us if we are in trouble; and He will cure our bad tempers, He will give us new and holy hearts if we ask Him; and so bring His sheep and His lambs safely home to heaven.

ADAM AND EVE

God gave everything in this garden to Adam and Eve, except one tree, the fruit of which He told them they must not eat. If they did, He should punish them by causing them to die.

But they were disobedient, and ate the fruit which God had forbidden. They were very unhappy as soon as they had done this; for they knew they had done wrong. And when they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden, they were so frightened that they tried to hide themselves from Him. But it was of no use; no one can hide from God. He called them out, and drove them from the garden into the world outside, to suffer and die.

Then, when they were gone, angels, with a flaming sword, were placed there, to guard the Tree of Life.