The people of the Bible land had lost their kingdom before the time of Christ. They had no king of their own, but governors came from Rome, a city hundreds of miles away, and ruled them. But the people hoped that this would not last. They wanted a kingdom of their own. They believed God would give it to them some day. They prayed that it might come. When Jesus began to teach and hear people, they thought perhaps he would be a king to bring this kingdom that God would give them. But Jesus had something better than a great kingdom on earth. He tried to make them understand what it was. He called it the kingdom of heaven. By that he meant the rule of God in the world. God's rule is not in a great palace, with soldiers and a throne and great splendor. It is in the heart, and grows up very quietly, like the plants in the field. Jesus once told a story to show this. It was the story of THE MUSTARD SEED "The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field. {202} "Which indeed is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof." So the kingdom of heaven grows very quietly. But it is very precious, even if it is hidden away so closely. One might better let anything else go than that. Again, he told them, the kingdom of heaven is like to a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind. Again, the kingdom is like to a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls. How proud a man is to be a citizen of a great country! In this country we are proud to be Americans. Do you suppose you could be a citizen of the kingdom of God? Yes. Jesus said once that children and people who were like children belong to this kingdom. "Suffer the little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven." {203}{204} [Illustration] LOADING CAMELS AT JERUSALEM From a photograph taken by Prof. D. G. Lyon, and used by his kind permission. In the East much of the commerce is still carried on by means of caravans of camels; sometimes there are several thousand camels in one of these great caravans conveying all kinds of merchandise from one point to another. The camel will carry a very heavy load, but it utters piteous cries of complaint when it thinks the load is too heavy. [End illustration] {205} THE LITTLE CAPTIVE MAID Leprosy. A very dreaded disease. Leper. One who has leprosy. Rent his clothes. To show great sorrow or trouble. Chariot. A small wagon with two wheels, used in war. Flesh shall come again. In leprosy the flesh dries up, and the person becomes very thin. In the old times war was very cruel. Houses were burned and men and women killed, and very often the little children were taken far away and sold for slaves. Sometimes they never came back to their homes or friends again.