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Story of Bethlehem, by the author of 'Morning and night watches,' etc
Story of Bethlehem by the author of 'Morning and night watches' etc Author:John Ross MacDuff 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. STORY OF THE SHEPHERD BOY. A Long number of years had passed in the history of Bethlehem, since the events took place which I have told you ab... more »out in last chapter. Boaz and Kuth, good old Naomi, and probably Obed, after faithfully serving God, had all been laid in their graves. Obed had a son, whose name was Jesse. He, too, had by this time become advanced in life, and had no less than eight children of his own. Jesse, his wife, and his sons, I doubt not, lived in the same house and reaped the same fields that formerly belonged to Boaz ; for the Jews always liked to keep the inheritance of their fathers, and would not part with it for a great deal. I am sure Jesse would often delight to talk to his boys about God's dealings to his pious ancestors. He would take them up to the top of hisflat-roofed house, and, as he pointed to the great Moab mountains in the distance, would narrate over and over the beautiful tale of my two former chapters. I am sure they would never be weary of hearing about Ruth's love and affection for her widowed mother, and how God always rewards and blesses those that are kind and good. A little fair-haired, blue-eyed boy, was the youngest of these sons—the little Benjamin of the house. His name was David, which means " Beloved." He would especially delight to climb his parent's knees, and listen to these stories. How his bright eye would kindle as his father would tell him about the valleys of Moab and the castles of Sihon; about Ruth clinging to Naomi and refusing to leave her! Then about her gleaning in the harvest-field, glad to take a lap- ful of corn home at night to the poor cottage where her mother-in-law lived; and at last becoming the wife of good Boaz, and a Princess in Bethlehem. I daresay, when as a little boy David fir...« less