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afraid their hearts melted and

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water.

Joshua did not know that the c defeat was the disobedience of an had taken some spoil out of Jerich brought "a curse and trouble" in as the LORD had said.

So Joshua and the Elders of Isr clothes, and put dust upon thei with great sorrow and penitence earth on their faces before the Ark until the eventide, and Joshua GOD, "O LORD, what shall I say turneth their backs before their en But the LORD answered Joshua, thee up; wherefore liest thou th face? Israel hath sinned, and th transgressed My Covenant which them for they have even taken of thing, and have also stolen, an also, and they have put it even own stuff: therefore the children not stand before their enemies, bu backs before their enemies, beca accursed: neither will I be with except ye destroy the accursed you."

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in his tent made this confes of a penitent heart

instead of waiting till it was forced from him— perhaps even his gross disobedience and covetousness might have been forgiven by that merciful GOD Who "willeth not the death of a sinner, but rather that he should turn from his wickedness and live." But to obtain forgiveness, we must make confession out of a free, full heart, turning in deep penitence to God, and saying with King David in his repentance,

Against Thee only have I sinned and done this evil in Thy sight. . . . Turn Thy Face from my sins, and blot out all my offences." To all such, who with hearty repentance and true faith, seek forgiveness, He grants it, through the cleansing Blood of His most dear Son, in Whose Name and grace alone pardon and loosing can be obtained.

Joshua then sent messengers to Achan's tent, and they found the silver and gold and the garment, and brought them to Joshua, and in the sight of all the people they were laid out before the LORD. Then a very awful scene came to pass, in which God's judgment was executed upon the sinner. Joshua took Achan and all his sons and daughters; his oxen, his asses and his sheep; his tent, and everything that he had, and also the silver and gold and

then lastly one by one, every man in it had to pass before him. Then Joshua took Achan the son of Carmi, and grandson of Zabdi, as the man who was guilty of troubling Israel. Joshua spoke to the unhappy man who had disobeyed his LORD and Master, saying, "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; hide it not from me."

Achan saw now how terrible a GOD the LORD of Israel was, and how no man might presume to think he could deceive Him, and yet go unpunished. How he must now have longed to begin again, and resist the temptation to take the forbidden treasures, for which he saw he had lost all else! But Achan could not recall the past, he could do nothing now save to confess his sin, which he did, saying, "Indeed I have sinned against the LORD GOD of Israel." Then he confessed how he had been tempted by the sight of some fine clothes, and a wedge of gold, and two hundred shekels of silver; and how he coveted them, and took them—and they were now hidden under the earth in his tent.

Unhappy man! if he had made this confession earlier, out of the grief of a penitent heart,

instead of waiting till it was forced from himperhaps even his gross disobedience and covetousness might have been forgiven by that merciful GOD Who "willeth not the death of a sinner, but rather that he should turn from his wickedness and live." But to obtain forgiveness, we must make confession out of a free, full heart, turning in deep penitence to God, and saying with King David in his repentance,

Against Thee only have I sinned and done this evil in Thy sight. . . . Turn Thy Face from my sins, and blot out all my offences." To all such, who with hearty repentance and true faith, seek forgiveness, He grants it, through the cleansing Blood of His most dear Son, in Whose Name and grace alone pardon and loosing can be obtained.

Joshua then sent messengers to Achan's tent, and they found the silver and gold and the garment, and brought them to Joshua, and in the sight of all the people they were laid out before the LORD. Then a very awful scene came to pass, in which God's judgment was executed upon the sinner. Joshua took Achan and all his sons and daughters; his oxen, his asses and his sheep; his tent, and everything that he had, and also the silver and gold and

raiment which he had stolen-and followed by all the people, Joshua took them out to a valley near, called Achor, or the valley of trouble. There Joshua spake GoD's sentence upon the sinner, according as He had spoken before to Moses in the Law, saying, "So shalt thou put the evil away from among you."" And all the people stoned Achan with stones, and then burnt all his goods, and they raised a great heap of stones over the place. So the LORD turned from the fierceness of His anger, and said to Joshua that the Israelites should not now be put to flight by the men of Ai. "Fear not," He said, "neither be thou dismayed; take all the people of war with thee and arise, go up to Ai: see, I have given into thy hand the king of Ai, and his people, and his city, and his land; and thou shalt do to Ai and her king, as thou didst to Jericho and her king."

THE TAKING OF AI.

So Joshua arose, and chose out thirty thousand mighty men of valour, and he sent them

1 Deut. xvii. 7.

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