The Triumph Over Midian Author:A. L. O. E. Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER III. LECTURE I. MIDIANITES IN POSSESSION. [OR forty years after Deborah had celebrated the triumph over Sisera in her glorious song, the land... more » of Israel had had rest. This period of tranquillity receives such brief mention in the Scriptures, that we are in danger of forgetting for how long a time God granted the blessing of peace. And thus is it in our own lives, my brethren : times of trouble stand out as it were like rugged crags, shutting out from memory's view the vines and the fig-trees, the olive-yards, the green pastures and still waters, with which our gracious God for long may have blessed us. Seven years of trouble to Israel succeeded the forty years of repose. Not causeless trouble, such is never known in the experience either of Israelite or of Christian, but we do not always search out the actual cause of affliction. With God's ancient people the punishment was clearly traced to the sin. When the Midianites, like a swarm of locusts, came up against them, destroying and wasting, driving theinhabitants of the land to hide in dens of the mountains, strongholds, and caves, it was because the stain of idolatry lay upon Israel, and mercy, to save the sinners, required that justice should chastise the sin. The Midianites, who were thus made an instrument of punishment to Israel, were, like themselves, descendants of Abraham, but by his union with Keturah. When Moses guided God's people towards Canaan, the Midianites drew down vengeance on themselves by their too successful efforts to lead Israel into sin. Then perished the wicked prophet Balaam amongst the enemies of God's people. But Midian, though punished, had not been destroyed, and now—after the lapse of nearly two hundred years—we find it a very powerful nation, against whose numerous hordes th...« less