The patriarch prospered again under Jehovah's smile, and became greater in wealth, and family, and influence, than he was when Satan assailed him. The deceiver and persecutor does not appear again in the annals of the devout Arabian; disappointed and enraged, he turned his malice against others more easily conquered and led captive by his wiles. How awakening the thought that he still goes about "as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour." But with loving trust in God, he can only repeat his fruitless effort to destroy, preparing the way for richest blessings. [Illustration: Nathan Reproving David] [Illustration: David's Charge to Solomon.] THE BIBLE AND THE HOLY LAND. PATRIARCHS. KINGS. AND KINGDOMS. THE FIRST KINGS. Theocracy, we have seen, was the first form of government in the world. The word is from Theos, which means God; for He ruled by direct command, and would have continued to have been the only and perfect sovereign, had not man been disloyal to him. The patriarchal quay, which was that of the family, having at length united households and extended authority, was still a Theocracy. When God made his people a separate nation, each of the twelve tribes, which sprang from the sons of Jacob, had its own ruler. If any important matter concerning them all demanded public attention, they called an assembly of their leaders. When the bondage in Egypt was broken, Moses was the deliverer and lawgiver of Israel, and Joshua the great general or military chieftain. The high priest was the visible servant of God--his representative of the Redeemer of his people. Then came the judges, who were a kind of governors, having power to declare war and make peace for the nation, but wearing no badges of distinction. Jehovah revealed through them his will, and was still the glorious king of Israel. With the increase in numbers and general prosperity, there was a decrease of the religious element and of harmony among the people. They also ceased to appreciate the simple and sublime principles of a Theocracy, while all around them was the central power and the pomp of pagan monarchies; and they became tired of God's holy sovereignty, having no visible display of authority. There were dissensions and civil strife in Israel, in consequence of these departures from the Lord, and strange melancholy blindness to their preeminence over other nations. It was with them as it will be in the great American Republic, if Puritan faith and works decline, until practical atheism prevails in our "goodly land." The people will throw off wholesome restraints, become divided North and South, and corrupt in morals, until a monarchy will be the natural resort of the people, as a protection against their own selfish passions and conflicts.