them. He then eloquently addressed them. He related to them that the king of Moab warred against them, and called Balaam to curse them; but God "would not hearken unto Balaam, therefore he blessed you still". He then said to them, "And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served, that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. And the people answered and said, God forbid that we should forsake the Lord, to serve other gods; for the Lord our God, he it is that brought us up and our fathers out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, and which did those great signs in our sight, and preserved us in all the way wherein we went, and among all the people through whom we passed." p. 64, Para. 3, [4SGa].
The people renewed their covenant with Joshua. They said unto him, "The Lord our God will we serve, and his voice will we obey." Joshua wrote the words of their covenant in the book containing the laws and statutes given to Moses. Joshua was loved and respected by all Israel, and his death was much lamented by them. p. 65, Para. 1, [4SGa].
Chapter XXXIV (34) · Samuel and Saul
The children of Israel were a highly-favored people. God had brought them from Egyptian bondage and acknowledge them as his own peculiar treasure. Moses said, "What nation is there so great, who hath God so nigh them, as the Lord our God is in all things that we call upon him for?" p. 65, Para. 2, [4SGa].
Samuel had judged Israel from his youth. He had been a righteous and impartial judge, faithful in all his work. He was becoming old, and the people saw that his sons did not follow his footsteps. Although they were not vile, like the children of Eli, yet they were dishonest and double-minded. While they aided their father in his laborious work, their love of reward led them to favor the cause of the unrighteous. p. 65, Para. 3, [4SGa].
The Hebrews demanded a king of Samuel, like the nations around them. By preferring a despotic monarch to the wise and mild government of God himself, by the jurisdiction of