. The pictorial history of Palestine and the Holy land including a complete history of the Jews. estore their own pro-perty to them. But David took the opportunity of establishing the viseful principle that allthe persons engaged in an expedition should share equally, whatever part they took in it; or,m other words, that those whose presence protected the baggage should be equally benefitedby a victory with those who went to the fight. The present campaign of the Philistines against the Israelites was one of those large opera-tions which nations can in general only undertake after long interva
. The pictorial history of Palestine and the Holy land including a complete history of the Jews. estore their own pro-perty to them. But David took the opportunity of establishing the viseful principle that allthe persons engaged in an expedition should share equally, whatever part they took in it; or,m other words, that those whose presence protected the baggage should be equally benefitedby a victory with those who went to the fight. The present campaign of the Philistines against the Israelites was one of those large opera-tions which nations can in general only undertake after long intervals of rest. There seems,indeed, during the reign of Saul, to have been always a soit of desultory and partial war-fare between the two nations; but it had produced no measure comparable to this, whichwas intended to be decisive, and was calculated to tax to the utmost the resources of the belli-gerents. When Saul surveyed, from the heights of Gilboa, the formidable army which thePhilistine had brought into the i)lain of Esdraelon—that great battle-field of nations—his Chap. I.] SAUL. 461. heart failed liim. Presentiments of comingevents cast deep shadows over his troubledmind. He sought counsel of God. But Godhad forsaken him—left him to his own devices—and answered him not, either by dreams,or by urim, or by prophets. The crimes of Saul arose from his disloyaltyto Jehovah, in his reluctance to acknowledgeHim as the true king of Israel. But as hisGod, he worshipped him, and had no tendencytowards those idolatries by which so manysubsequent kings were disgraced. All idolatryand idolatrous acts were discouraged andpunished by him. In obedience to the law *he banished from the land all the diviners andwizards he could find. But now, in his dis-may, he directed his attendants to find out awoman skilful in necromancy, that he mightseek through her the information which theLord refused to give. One was found atEndor, a town not far from the camp inGilboa; and to her he repair
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