posed upon, he punished the Gibeonites by making them hewers of wood and drawers of water to the Levites. (Josh. ix.)

How Gibeon was relieved.

Joshua sent instantly to their relief, and received miraculous aid from heaven; for when the enemy was put to flight, God cast upon them great hailstones to discomfit them.

issue was.

What the Joshua pursued the routed army till nightfall, and then commanded the sun and moon to stand still till he had completed his victory.

How Joshua was obeyed.

The sun and moon obeyed his bidding, and "went not down for a whole day;" so that Joshua was enabled to slay or take captive all his allied enemies.

The five kings were captured in a cave, and hanged on five trees.

The other conquests.

Other cities fell into his hands after this brilliant victory without much difficulty; so that in the course of seven years 31 kings were slain, and all their possessions given to the Hebrews.

What was done next.

The land was then divided by lot amongst the tribes, under this condition that those who inherited conquered portions should help the rest to gain theirs.

next done.

What was After the land had been allotted, the tabernacle was set up at a place called Shiloh, where it remained till it was superseded by Solomon's temple.

Joshua's age

at death.

Joshua'a cha

Joshua died at the age of 110 years, and was buried in his inheritance on Mount Ephraim. (B.c. 1439.) He was brave, prudent, and circumspect; a faithful worshipper of God; a merciful ruler; but most stern and unflinching in the punishment of sin.

racter,

Who succeed

ed him.

He left no successor; but, at his death, each tribe chose an elder for its governor, and became a separate and independent community.

Eleazer, the high-priest and son of Aaron, died about the same time as Joshua, and was succeeded by Phinehas, his son.

1.-SUPPLEMENT FOR SENIOR PUPILS.

Joshua a JOSHUA was a TYPE of JESUS CHRIST:

type.

(1) The name of Joshua, like that of Jesus, means a saviour;

(2.) Joshua succeeded Moses, as the gospel dispensation succeeded the Mosaical;

(3.) Joshua led the Israelites from the wilderness to the land of promise, as Jesus leads be lievers from the wilderness of this world to heaven;

(4.) The river Jordan was crossed safely under Joshua, as the river of death is passed safely under the guidance of Jesus;

(5.) The taking of Jericho without a blow, at the sound of the priests' trumpets, typified the victory of the world "not by might nor by power," but by the foolishness of preaching;

(6.) The various enemies which Joshua encountered and slew, prefigured the victory of the Christian over all his enemies through the power of Christ;

(7.) Rahab, the Gentile, who was saved, and married a Hebrew, was a type of Gentile sinners saved and ranked with the true Israelites;

(8.) The scarlet thread which she fastened to her window was a faint shadow of the blood of Christ, which guarantees from destruction every house where it is found;

(9.) The inheritance of Canaan divided by lot amongst the tribes, typified the inheritance of heaven which awaiteth the people of God.

2.-SUPPLEMENT FOR SENIOR PUPILS.

the Mosaic

THE JEWISH THEOCRACY.

The basis of The fundamental law of the Mosaic institution. institution was the worship of the one true and only God, the temporal king and tutelar deity of the Hebrews.

was constituted.

How the kingdom In this divine kingdom God was the reigning sovereign, Canaan his earthly dominion, the Hebrews his chosen subjects, the High-priest his prime minister, the Levites his state officers and royal guards, the Tabernacle his palace, and the Ten Commandments his code of laws.

The homage All God's subjects (the Hebrews) exacted. were required to repair to his royal palace thrice every year to pay him homage and tribute.

idolatry was

regarded.

In what light Idolatry was treason in such a kingdom, and was punished with death; in consequence of which, many laws were introduced to isolate the people from idolaters.

Thus they were forbidden to marry or make leagues with strangers; numerous foods were forbidden, so that social intercourse with strangers might be prevented, &c.

Joshua's war

The conquest of Canaan was no justified. aggression, but simply a recovery of rightful territory. The Canaanites were

usurpers of the land belonging by divine right to Abraham and his seed.

Canaanites

were slain.

Why the The Canaanites were slain or driven from the land as a punishment for their sins; just as the people of Sodom and Gomorrah had been destroyed for sin in the time of Lot.

It matters little what instrument God makes use of to punish grievous sin, whether earthquake, pestilence, famine, or the sword.

pation not

Their extir- They were not all extirpated, and complete. soon after the death of Joshua, the Hebrews made marriages with them, and fell into their idolatrous customs. (Jud. xvii., xviii.) Where the sin This idolatry commenced in the commenced. tribes of Ephraim and Dan, but soon spread through other tribes, till all the Israelites "forsook God to serve Baal and Ashtaroth." (Judges ii. 11-13.)

What these Baal and Ashtaroth were the chief

idols were. god and goddess of the Syrians. Baal

was the sun, and Ashtaroth the moon; not unlike the Isis and Osiris of the Egyptians.

How pun

ished.

God interfered from time to time by sending vast armies against them; and when they repented, raised up heroes, called judges, to deliver them. (Judges ii. 14—22.) This state of things continued for continued. about 450 years, when the people rejected God, and chose Saul to be their king.

How long

this state

P