After Achan had been burned, the Israelites captured Ai and hanged its king on a tree. Then Joshua built an altar to God on Mount Ebal of whole stones that had never been cut. On the altar he put burnt offerings. On the stones of the altar he wrote the laws that Moses had given to the people when he was alive. Then he got all the people together, men, women and little ones, and read to them God’s promises of the good things that would happen to them if they did right, and the bad things that would happen if they did wrong. The people listened carefully to the reading. Joshua did this because he had promised Moses that he would just before he died. [Illustration: THE ALTAR ON MOUNT EBAL.] THE CITIES OF REFUGE. In those old times, when one man killed another, the friends of the dead man had the right to kill the murderer. But sometimes it happened that one person killed another without meaning to do it. Of course it was not right that he should be killed for what he could not help. God saw that there ought to be some way of saving him. So he told Joshua to name six cities to which such a person could flee and where no one could touch him. These cities were called Cities of Refuge. Three of them were on the west side of Jordan and three on the east. Some say that all the guide posts along the way had “Refuge!” “Refuge!” written on them. [Illustration: FLEEING TO THE CITY OF REFUGE.] THE DEATH OF JOSHUA. A long time after the fall of Jericho, when Joshua was an old man, he made all the Israelites come into one place so that he could talk to them, before he left them, forever. He asked them to count over the good things God had done for them, and promised that He would do even more for them than He had already. He told them to be brave, to do as Moses had wanted them to do when he was alive, and never to have anything to do with people who worshiped idols. If they did, God would punish them. When Joshua had instructed the Israelites in all the good ways, having said all that was on his mind, he died. He was one hundred and ten years old. [Illustration: JOSHUA EXHORTING THE PEOPLE.] GIDEON AND THE FLEECE. After Joshua died, the Israelites forgot God and worshiped idols. So God punished them as Joshua said. The Midianites came into the land and the Israelites had to hide from them in dens and caves. Gideon, a mighty man, was threshing corn one day when an angel came to him and told him to go and save Israel. Gideon was willing to go, but asked God to show him some sign that he would beat the Midianites. So one night God made a fleece that Gideon put on the ground wet with dew while all the ground was dry, and the next night he kept the fleece dry while all the ground was wet. Then Gideon knew that God would be on his side. [Illustration: EXAMINING THE FLEECE.] THE DEFEAT OF THE MIDIANITES.